Speakers for a bright amp

I have a 68 Pro Reverb. I put 2 ET-65's in it first. I liked the sound I was getting much better. It tamed the highs and gave it more bottom end. I just swapped out one of the ET65's for a G12C/S and it gave it back some of that Fender Sparkle. I am really happy with the ET65 G12C/S combination

 

I've often seen the Cannabis Rex recommended to mellow out a bright amp.

 

Fane Alnico AXA12

 

Yes. This is a very good suggestion. I had a CR and did lots of comparisons with other speakers. It has good lows, great mids and just enough highs.

The WGS Reaper 55 is another very fine speaker in the same vein. The low mids are so throaty and breathy. Mmmm.

CHAD

 

Is it assumed that all of these speakers are alnico? Do they come in alnico and ceramic versions?

 

"Quote"
Mabley- Not familiar with that speaker but I'll check it out.

They are VERY VERY VERY nice Speakers and they are expensive.

Fane came is Vox, Laney, Jennings, Sound City, Hiwatt originally. Hiwatt was their biggest fan. Selmer/WEM

Fane was also The 1st Speaker Manufacturer to have a 100 Watt x 100db x 1/w x 1/m speaker. That was in the 60's too.

Fane are also known for have some of the best overdriven sounds there are. I don't think Anything Beats them. 00000 Nothing. Especially for a Modern/New Speaker. Thaey are also made in England. Not China.

But they do like to be driven. And Not driving the speaker into submission either. Both Preamp Drive and or Pedals. This is where they IMHO are Unbeatable.

You also would Never have to worry about diming your amp all night and all day and worry about speaker failure. Something else may fail but I promise you the speaker wont.

They also make a Medusa series that aren't as expensive ( Aint cheap either ) but are also monstrous speakers none the less.

These speakers.. AXA's.... match Perfectly with Tweed, Blackface and Silverface Fenders. as well as Vox, Hiwatt and Marshall.

Another suggestion is the Tone Tubby Alnico Red Combined with a Tone Tubby 40/40 Ceramic. It is called the H Bomb and is Highy regarded.

2 more Great Speakers are Used Altec Lansing 417 8h. They are what Santana Original had in his Twin Reverbs. Also a Favorite of Randy Rhodes. 2 ends of the spectrum like the same speaker. Seems like a Versatile speaker. I have 2 x 15 Altec 418 8H's since 73 and 3 x 12 Altec 417 Type Diacones which are much older ( 63 ) and not as powerful as the Altec 417 8H.. But Very nice just the same.

Altec are also found... Not Common though, as Original Factory Upgrades in Fenders. Also JBL are also not unknown in Old Fenders. JBL was Standard Common Upgrade. EV are even Less common but not unheard of but probably not good for taming highs. Both EV and JBL will give what the amp is. And Fenders are generally bright. Even with Hemp cones JBL's are Tamed but still Bright.

I also have E120 JBL's with Hemp cones in EV Type TS806 cabinets with 3 pc. modular backs.

But after all that I would still go with the Fane AXA12's if I could afford them. I want 4 x 10 or 2 x 2 x 10 ( Which is easier to transport). AXA's myself for a Metro GMP45 and My 69 Dual Showman Reverb.


FANE GUITAR LOUDSPEAKERS History and Heritage FANE was founded in 1958 at the birth of rock and roll by
Mr. Dennis Newbold and Arthur Faulcus.
The first two letters of their name formed the new brand: FANE.
In the early 1960s with the advent of electronically amplified musical instruments FANE
took the decision to specialise in high quality loudspeaker manufacture.

In the early '60s FANE started supplying Selmer,
Watkins/WEM and a little later to a young man, Dave Reeves, who went on to found Hiwatt.
He first used FANE in a big way in his Sound City amps but it was Hiwatt that really forged the FANE reputation.

Historic Batley factory: Manufacturing Area of Pressed Metal Parts FANE became quickly established
as the largest UK manufacturer supplying more than 75% of all speakers used by
UK manufacturers at this time including the top British amp makers
Hiwatt, Jennings, Selmer, Sound City, Watkins/WEM, Vox and Laney.

They equipped their cabinets with FANE and with it the signature to iconic British tone.
Once Pink Floyd, The Who, Jethro Tull and the Moody Blues were linked to Hiwatt,
they established and grew Fanes reputation at the same time.
By the early '80s FANE was probably the biggest speaker brand in Europe.

Then in 1989 everything changed. Historic Batley factory:
One of the Loudspeaker Assembly Floors FANE at that time were being run by
Arthur Barnes who had started working at FANE in 1966
and worked through the ranks to become Managing Director.
Barnes really drove the company forward and was responsible for its great success throughout that era.
The family that owned the shares of the company at that time sold
FANE to new owners and the new parent company got into financial difficulties in 89
although FANE as a company were very successful.
Once again the company was available and Barnes attempted a management take over.

Unfortunately he wasnt successful and it was the end of an era.
Historic Batley factory:Electrostatic Paint Spraying and Stoving facilities
within the Metal Assembly Floor In March 2007 Arthur Barnes, with his sons Neil and Mark,
finally were able to buy the business that he had started working in so many years before.
Barnes tracked down and hired some of the original employees that had been there in the 1970's and had worked with him until the 1980s.
The lady that winds the voice coils is the same person that was making them 30 years ago which is one way to get the fabulous original FANE sound!

He built a new factory in Yorkshire only 15 kilometres from the original factory in Batley,
Yorkshire and still working with the original suppliers,
making FANE's speakers chassis in Sheffield
and the same British manufactured cones from the original Hiwatt speakers of the 70s.
The result is the original tone from this fantastic era of British music legend.
Faithful to the original blueprints and manufactured in exactly the same way as the original FANE speakers 40 years ago,
a music legend is re-born!

The new FANE Guitar Speaker Factory in Wakefield UK Fast forward
to the modern era and a new generation of guitarists are selecting FANE equipped Hiwatt for their unique tone.
Current artists include
The Killers, Coldplay, Oasis, The Kooks, U2, The Zutons and many more.
source: pictures and words with friendly permission of FANE International Ltd

 

(((He really likes Fanes.)))

 

I really do. And its surprising how many have never heard of them.

 

I have some Fanes. They sound great in the Hiwatt cab they came in and OMG they SUCK when you stick them in a combo. They ain't the AXA alnico 12s though.

Anyway back to the original question with a question. What's in that Pro Reverb now ?

 

Too bad your not close by, I would let you check out mine. I swapped out the original Oxford speakers not because they had too much treble but because the bass would fart out at louder volume if you turned it up some.I would keep the bass set around 3 The ET65 allowed me to turn up the bassand they sound great overdriven. Using the 12C/S allong with the ET65 gave me some highs back but it is smoother and I can turn the treble up to get pretty bright if I want without being too bright

If you are looking for good cheap speakers, WGS is the way to go. I have been happy with whatever I have tried from them so far. They pop up used every once in a while around me for about $40

 

+2. Also, I had Jensen C12Ks in my Twin when I got it, and they were too warm and dark for me, but still had a very nice tone. Worth a try and probably easy to find used.

 

I read the thread title, and thought, he should try a Fane axa12, because I love mine. So I had to laugh with pleasure as I read the shared enthusiasm expressed by mabley123, and offer him my full backing.

 

There's a knob labeled "Treble" try turning that down a bit before wasting money on a speaker...lol

 

Good one!

 

I've got the Cannabis Rex in my SFDR and it did a great job taming the "paint peeling" high end. The speaker is also more efficient than the original Fender Blue Label and therefore the amp sounds louder. YMMV

 

So what are the speakers in it now ? That little tid bit of information seems relevent to this conversation.

As far as new speakers if I played loud and clean the Swamp Thang would be on my short list with it's 102db rating. But I don't play loud so the WGS G12C @ 96db looks interesting to me and that's what I was going to put in my 65 BFTR.
But I wanted to spend more money and add a few extra pounds so I got a pair of JBL D131s.

 

Are you comfortable with a soldering iron and amp schematics? You could easily notch down some brightness adding resistors or higher value pF caps at certain points in the circuitry. Your speakers may not carry enough bass, as opposed to carrying to many high frequencies.